3-bean minestrone with mint pesto
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
3-bean minestrone with mint pesto
Recipe by Annie Bell
Minestrone lends itself to a wide range of veg, whatever the season. Here the inclusion of some pulses, and a mixture of nuts and herbs broadens out the range of nutrients
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
300Kcal
Fat
21gr
Saturates
5gr
Carbs
12gr
Sugars
3gr
Fibre
10gr
Protein
12gr
Salt
0.9gr
Annie Bell
Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
Annie Bell
Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- 1 celery heart, trimmed and sliced
- 200g trimmed celeriac, cut into 1 cm dice
- 2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 800ml vegetable stock (using 1½ stock cubes) - use gluten-free if required
- 150g runner beans, trimmed and sliced diagonally 1 cm thick
- 150g fresh or frozen baby broad beans
- 100g shredded kale or spinach leaves
- 1 x 380g carton cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
For the pesto
- 50g mixed mint, basil and parsley leaves
- 15g walnuts
- 15g toasted hazelnuts
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 75g freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve - use vegetarian if required
Step by step
Get ahead
The soup and pesto can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge (store them separately), or frozen.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat, add the celery, celeriac and leeks and fry for 8-10 minutes until glossy and softened, stirring occasionally, adding the garlic just before the end.
- Add the stock, runner and broad beans, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the kale or spinach and stir in the cannellini beans. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes longer.
-
For the pesto, whiz the herbs and nuts with 3 tablespoons of oil in a food processor, then add the Parmesan and briefly whiz again to a crumbly mixture. Stir a dollop of pesto into each bowl of soup to serve, scatter with extra Parmesan and add a drizzle of oil.Kitchen tipIf you serve the soup with thick slices of wholegrain toast, rubbed with garlic and drizzled with oil, you will be getting all four plant food groups into one meal.
